To consider the
following people related reports scheduled for Cabinet
consideration on 11 September:
· People Strategy
· Pay & Reward Strategy
The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.
Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Vikki Slade, Leader of the Council.
The Cabinet reports will be published on Tuesday 3 September 2019 and available to view at the following link:
https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=3721&Ver=4
Minutes:
The Chairman invited the Portfolio Holder and Leader of the Council to introduce the next reports on the agenda.
People Strategy
The Leader advised that the report was being brought to Cabinet to approve the draft BCP Council 2019 – 2023 People Strategy. The strategy had been developed on the basis of staff surveys from the three preceding Councils which provided feedback on how members of staff wished the Council to work. The Leader of the Council was asked a number of questions regarding the strategy including:
In response to a question the Leader explained that the strategy aligned to the values as set out in the Council Plan, but it did not bare a relationship to the priorities outlined therein.
A Board Member questioned whether the strategy was too inward looking as evidenced by ‘customer focused’ was listed as priority seven. It was suggested that his should be moved forward and be a greater focus. The Leader explained that although the priorities within the strategy were outlined in a linear fashion it did not been that some priorities were more important than others and all priorities would be moved forward together. However, the Leader accepted that the priorities could be displayed or configured differently.
Again, a Board member commented that celebrating success was only listed as priority twelve. It was reconfirmed that these were not linear but they were also based on responses to previous surveys with an aim to be employee led and this issue was not ranked as highly as some of the others within the strategy. However, the linear rankings would be reviewed.
A Member asked about priority behaviours and about feeding back on action taken, which was not a specific point contained within. The Leader advised that this would be encompassed by act and based on the specific circumstances this may be included.
It was confirmed that the responses from the most recent staff survey had not yet been fully analysed and therefore there were lots of issues which were currently unknown for BCP. There was an extensive piece of work underway to extrapolate information from past surveys.
In response to a question the Director for Organisational Development explained that there were a number of ambitions targets within the strategy and these would be reviewed on an annual basis. It was explained that there was a staff engagement group in place and issues and ideas could be sent to the group and information received back as part of a two-way processes. There would be ongoing dialogue with staff on the contents of the plan.
A Councillor commented that the wording int the document, “where good things happen to good people,” seemed at odds with ensuring equity amongst the workforce and made it appear that some jobs may be more valued than others. The Leader did not feel that ensuring equity and rewards was incompatible. However, she would look into the wording in this section and suggested that it may be amended. In response to a query it was noted that the reference to ‘community’ could apply to members of the public, other members of staff or partners.
Implementation of Pay and Reward Strategy
The Leader advised the Board that the report to be considered by Cabinet set out the aspirations and the details for the arrangements, for implementing the pay and reward strategy. The purpose of the proposals was to mitigate risks and to ensure good practice and create a positive way forward. It was felt that the best way to do this and the only way to ensure the necessary levels of expertise and independence was to use an external organisation. The process of selecting an external organisation would be carried out by competitive tender but with a recognition that only a small number of companies would be able to provide the services required. The Board was advised that it was not expected to have either a positive or negative impact on the overall wage bill for the Council.
The Chairman acknowledged that the process of harmonisation needed to be fair overall but the changes to the pay structure will affect real people. It was noted that 38 percent of employees would see a wage reduction and in some cases a significant reduction. The Leader responded that if pay was above the median amount other staff could not be brought up due to the financial impact. It was thought staff who were ‘overpaid’ would be expecting it. Although it may not be considered fair to individuals it would be fair to members of the public. A Member questioned what evidence there was that certain staff would be expecting a pay cut? There was no evidence that this was expected but staff were aware of the need for equal pay and the necessity of budget cuts.
In response to a question the Leader advised that negotiations would take place with the trade unions but that contracts could be terminated, and staff reengaged on new terms and pay. The Leader felt that the fairest way to harmonise pay was o do it quickly and decisively with an external organisation. In further discussion the Leader confirmed that the wage bill needed to represent a figure which did not place a staring in the public purse and harmonisation was needed across the Council.
The Board questioned what had been learnt from other Council’s who had undergone a similar reorganisation and from the unions experience of it, particularly from Christchurch and East Dorset. The Council was in early stages of negotiations with the unions and different organisations could adopt very different approaches. The approach being taken would deal with both equal pay and achieving competitive levels of pay for staff.
A Councillor commented that the recommendation that authority to make the final decision on the strategy should be delegated to the Leader and Chief Executive seemed disproportionate for such an important decision.
A Councillor not on the Overview and Scrutiny Board suggested a more transitional approach of pay freezes to achieve equal pay. However, this would not be cost neutral and it would be that harmonisation of pay would take many years and it was felt best that it should be achieved as soon as possible.
RECOMMENDED that:
(a) Cabinet agree the recommendations at 1 – 5 of the report.
(b) Cabinet resolve that the recommendation at 6 in the Cabinet report be amended to end after the words “Trade Unions”.
(c) Cabinet approve the following additional recommendation to be added at 7, “To agree that a report be brought back to Cabinet to approve the final pay and reward arrangements in due course”
(d) Subject to the approval of the above recommendations Cabinet agree that the recommendation at 7 in the Cabinet report becomes recommendation 8.
Voting: Unanimous
The O&S Board agreed that it would want to consider this issue again before the final report to Cabinet and would appreciate as much time as possible to consider future Cabinet reports. The Leader responded that she expected the level of Cabinet reports and timing would begin to ease over the next few months.
The Chairman thanked the Leader for attending the meeting and responding to the Board’s questions.